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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Dragon's Heart
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“What? A heart?”
Startled, I pulled my hand away and peered closely inside the gem, whose light had now faded.
A small flicker of flame, which hadn't been there moments ago, was now dancing within the previously clear jewel.
As I watched the ember wag its tail back and forth as if in a dance, the Elder nodded as though he had expected this all along.
“It seems the jewel you saw, Little Marquess, was indeed a Dragon Heart.”
“It was?”
“As you can see, depending on a dragon's element, it can absorb a compatible power.”
As if to confirm his words, Enoch grasped my hand, his voice low and heavy as he spoke.
“It’s just like before. Riana, I can’t sense your fire power anymore.”
“Hmm.”
The Black Elder carefully lifted the jewel with the dancing flame and examined it, then slowly nodded.
“For now, it seems certain that you are a power user, Little Marquess.”
“What? Really?”
Honestly, even though Enoch had told me several times that I had a fire power, I hadn't fully believed him since it was different from the novel.
But to think it was actually true.
If it was, though, why was the Riana in the original story portrayed as an inferiority-ridden girl with no power?
Did something change when I entered this body?
Seeing my confusion, the Black Elder held the jewel out to me.
“Look at this. Do you see the flame?”
“Yes.”
“This is the power that was inside your body, Little Marquess, absorbed by the Dragon Heart and given form.”
“It’s the same…”
“Pardon?”
“This light. It’s the same as the light that came from Elisha’s ring.”
At my words, the Elders nodded.
“It seems the jewel in the Duke’s Daughter’s ring is a fragment of the Dragon Heart passed down as an heirloom in the ducal family.”
“But that couldn’t have been what Riana saw.”
Enoch, who had been observing the situation in silence, interjected.
“The one in the ducal family has likely faded over several generations.”
“But the one I saw was a vivid red, wasn’t it?”
In response to the questions Enoch and I raised, the Black Elder spoke cautiously.
“In that case, there is only one possibility for a Dragon Heart to emit such a light.”
“And what is that?”
“…If the heart was harvested very recently, its color would be as red as blood. But I haven’t heard any news of a dragon dying recently…”
“No, there was one.”
“Hm?”
As the Black Elder looked at him quizzically, the White Elder slowly stroked his curly beard.
“A dragon that died recently. There was one.”
***
Meanwhile.
Among the merchants starting their day, the rumor the White Elder had heard was spreading quietly but quickly.
“Did you hear the news?”
“What news?”
“You know, that gentleman who used to visit our shop so often.”
“Ah! You mean that friendly man with the red hair?”
“Yes! Good heavens, they say he was a dragon!”
The merchant listening to the restaurant owner’s hushed words snorted in disbelief.
“You’re pulling my leg! What dragon in the world looks like that? Friendly, sure, but wasn’t he so naive he didn’t know a thing about the world?”
The owner, recalling the man who used to frequent his place, grunted for a moment before continuing.
“I didn’t believe it at first either. But someone saw it with their own eyes! You know the son from the general store across the street? He said—”
Sweeping the streets, opening shop doors, setting out wares.
The chatter continued until the preparations for the day’s business were nearly complete.
And the end of the story was quite shocking.
“But I haven’t seen him around lately. Where did he go?”
“Come closer.”
As the merchant leaned in at the beckoning hand, a grim voice whispered into his ear.
“They found him dead. And his heart was gone.”
“What?”
“It’s such a shame. I can still see him smiling, so happy that his child was about to be born.”
“What about the child? Did the child die too?”
“Who knows. They said there was only one body, so maybe the child left with the mother?”
“Heh…”
A hollow sigh escaped the merchant who had heard the end of the rumor.
“He was such a good man. What a pity.”
***
“What do you mean by that?”
“Have you not heard the rumors circulating? Word is spreading that the dragon of the western forest is dead.”
Listening to the White and Black Elders, Enoch seemed lost in thought, his long fingers pressing against his lower lip.
“The dragon of the western forest… You mean that fool who was so unguarded he was practically an idiot.”
“Yes. It was Lord Karkes. They say his body was missing its heart.”
“Missing its heart… Was he murdered?”
Flinch.
As I focused on the conversation, Ariel, who was sitting beside me, shivered and tugged on my clothes.
“Ariel, what’s wrong?”
“Hngh…”
When I asked in a worried tone, the child stretched her short, chubby arms toward me and whimpered, as if asking to be held.
“What’s wrong with her? Is she hungry?”
I held the pouting Ariel in my arms and patted her small back, and the conversation, which had paused for a moment, resumed.
“Given the circumstances, it seems likely.”
“…I told him so many times not to trust others so easily, but he never listened.”
Enoch ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
“In any case, the jewel in the Duke’s Daughter’s ring is likely Karkes’s heart.”
“Why would Elisha have something like that?”
At my question, Enoch’s strained expression softened as he replied.
“Who knows. She could have acquired it by chance, or perhaps,”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but everyone in the room knew what words Enoch had swallowed.
*Elisha could be the one who killed the western dragon, Karkes, and took his heart.*
That must have been what he held back.
‘Surely not.’
As I shook my head to dismiss the thought, the White Elder looked at me.
“In any case, be careful if you see a jewel like this in the future. You could have your power stolen.”
“Okay.”
Seeing my listless reply, Enoch added.
“And it would be best to refrain from getting involved with the Duke’s Daughter until we know for certain why she has that item.”
“But…”
I looked down at Ariel, who was clinging tightly to me, and Enoch smiled gently, as if he knew what I was about to say.
“It will only be for a short while.”
“…Yes, I understand.”
“By the way, regarding the recovery of Karkes’s body—”
Just as the topic was about to shift back to the dragon named Karkes, Ariel, who had been whimpering, finally burst into tears.
“Hic, waaaah!”
“Ariel? What’s wrong? Huh?”
Something was making her so miserable. I tried to soothe the hiccupping, crying child, but her tears wouldn’t stop.
My own panic, combined with the child’s high temperature, caused beads of sweat to form on my forehead despite the cool weather.
“Why, why is she like this?”
“Perhaps she’s hungry? She didn’t get to eat properly this morning since she spilled her milk.”
Seeing my state, Enoch pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the sweat from my brow, and offered a plausible theory.
“Ah! That could be it! Then, Your Majesty, I’ll just be a moment.”
I could have called for a servant, but seeing the child cry as if she couldn’t breathe made my heart race, and I couldn’t bear to just sit and wait.
“Shall I go with you?”
“It’s fine. It won’t take long.”
“Then be careful. Don’t rush and fall.”
My flustered state must have seemed unreliable, as Enoch’s eyes crinkled slightly.
He then tucked a strand of hair that had fallen across my face behind my ear and warned me again and again.
Don’t run, be careful on the stairs.
The Elders, their eyes darting between us, began to whisper amongst themselves, making me feel embarrassed. I swatted Enoch’s arm to make him stop.
“What do you think? Don’t they look wonderful together?”
“Perfect! First, for the wedding hall—”
Then, as I scurried out of the room, they shouted after me.
“Little Marquess, you mustn’t forget!”
“F-Forget what?”
“To melt the ice in His Majesty’s heart, you must have as much contact as possible, as often as possible!”
So that’s what this was about.
I pouted at the Elders for repeating what they had already said several times.
“I know. I remember, you know?”
Did they think I’d forget something they told me just a few minutes ago?
I turned my head haughtily and left the room, hearing the Elders’ chuckling laughter from behind the closing door.
***
After Riana left the room.
The Elders, who had been pleased at the thought of finally marrying off the Emperor—a man they thought would live and die a bachelor, having never so much as held a woman’s hand—abruptly clamped their mouths shut when they noticed a pair of cool, gray eyes staring intently at them.
“Elders.”
“Yes?”
“Y-Yes?”
The low voice reverberated through the room, and both Elders answered at once.
Worried they might have angered him by being too playful, the two men watched him cautiously, but their expressions quickly turned serious at Enoch’s next words.
“Investigate the relationship between the Herington ducal family and Riana.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by…”
“…I don’t think yesterday was the first time the Duke laid a hand on Riana.”
“Th-That…”
“And look into Riana’s and the Duke’s Daughter’s powers as well. Find out if there is anything we don’t know.”
“Th-That wretched…!”
Thump!
The sound of two enraged men slamming their hands on the table echoed through the room.
“Do not worry, Your Majesty! We will investigate everything, down to how many spoons the ducal family owns!”
“…No. That won’t be necessary.”
But Enoch’s voice seemed to fall on deaf ears as the eyes of the White and Black Elders blazed with fury.
‘How dare he torment our Empress! That damn scoundrel deserves divine punishment!’
In the minds of the two elders, who had already firmly decided Riana was the Emperor’s partner, the Duke was the most despicable villain in the world, and nothing less.
Of course, Riana and Enoch, the two people at the center of it all, had no such thoughts.
The Elders’ excessive fighting spirit sent a strange shiver down Enoch’s spine, and at the same moment, Riana also shuddered.
“The air… seems to have grown cold.”
“Why do I have a bad feeling?”
